


One Country Road

by paperback92



Series: It Is Not Flesh And Blood But The Heart Which Makes Us Father and Son [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Iron Dad, Parent Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony adopts Peter, spider son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 10:50:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15241770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperback92/pseuds/paperback92
Summary: James "Bucky" Barnes was back in town and living in the tower. Now when it came to Peter, hanging out with Steve now meant hanging out with Barnes too. And predictably, Peter had no problem including Barnes into his inner circle. It was his luck that Tony just had to get a kid with a heart as big as New York City itself.So Tony pushed down any ill feelings and swallowed them up. If he’d learned anything from his short time as a parent, it was that you had to pick your battles. Barnes was in no apparent danger of slipping back into his old programming and Peter was happy, so it was fine.It was all fine. Seriously, it was fine.





	One Country Road

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place in a part of a series but can be read as a stand alone one shot.
> 
> Enjoy :)

It all came down to a bad case of mistiming.

Tony and Steve had had a stupid amount of Avengers business that they’d procrastinated on and that needed to be done. That meant Steve had to cancel on his and Peter’s training session and Natasha was out of town. Peter had been disappointed so Barnes offered to sub in.

Which was fine, Tony told himself. That was fine. It was all fine. 

Barnes had been a relatively new presence around the tower lately. He had finished his treatments in Wakanda and had wanted to come back to the city. And because you didn’t see on without the other, (And Steve had to gall to say that Tony and Peter were codependent) Steve had asked if Barnes could stay at the tower. 

He’d been quick to reassure Tony that it was alright if he said no. They’d look for an apartment somewhere else. And, for a moment, saying no had been pretty tempting. 

They had all kissed and made up and all that jazz, but the thought of his having his mother’s murder, brainwashed or not, so close to this new life and new family that Tony had acquired, about made him break out in hives. 

Then he thought of Peter. Peter had gotten close to Steve since May’s death. He knew that Peter would be crushed if Steve moved out. 

Also, if Tony refused Barnes then it undoubtedly led to too many questions on Peter’s end and that would lead to a conversation that Tony did not want to have with anyone, but especially not Peter. He didn’t know what went down after Germany and Tony had no intentions of telling him.

So Tony got Barnes certified clean bill of health from Shuri, his Wakandan doctor, and gave him a key card. 

If Tony was being honest, having Barnes in the tower wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought it would be. They mostly kept their distance from one another but when they were in the same room it was okay. There were no knock out drag outs. No tears or shouting matches. It was civil. 

Of course when it came to Peter, hanging out with Steve now meant hanging out with Barnes. Predictably, Peter had no problem including Barnes into his inner circle. Go figure, Tony just had to get a kid with a heart as big as New York City itself. 

So Tony pushed down any ill feelings and swallowed them up. If he’d learned anything from his short time as a parent, it was that you had to pick your battles. Barnes was in no apparent danger of slipping back into his old programming and Peter was happy, so it was fine.

Really, it was all fine. 

Until Peter didn’t get his timing down quite right and zigged when he should have zagged. So instead of dodging Barnes’ fist, it caught him square in the chest and sent him flying back into the gym wall. 

And instead of Tony and Steve staying in the conference room like they were supposed to, they took an unplanned break and walked in to see Peter laying on the floor with Barnes leaning over him. 

But all Tony could see was the Winter Solider looming over his kid. Then the scene changed, and for an instant all he could see was the Winter Solider standing over his mom and choking her to death. He was jolted back to present and, with a sickening thud of his heart, realized that it looked like Peter was not breathing.

“What the hell is going on?” Tony barely recognized his own voice; it sounded stripped and raw. He ran and climbed into the ring with speed that he didn’t even know he was capable of outside of the suit. Barnes very wisely moved out of his way and Tony hoped that he realized how lucky he was that he didn’t get a repulsor blast to the face.

With baited breath, Tony dropped down next to Peter and pressed two shaking fingers to his neck. Peter’s pulse thankfully thumped underneath but he still wasn’t breathing properly. They came out in short harsh pants. 

Thinking fast, Tony started rubbing Peter’s sternum, trying to coax the kid’s lungs into working correctly. 

“Come on, Pete. Breathe. Come on, kid.”

After the longest thirty seconds of Tony’s life, Peter gasped awake. He took in a strained but full breath, then another. He finally evened out on the third. He blinked up at Tony, his brow furrowed.

“T’ny?”

“Hey, kid.” Tony tried to give him a reassuring smile, but Peter’s frown told him that he missed the mark. Steve kneeled beside them, and Tony’s hand shook as they helped Peter sit up. 

“What happened?” 

“You just got winded.” Steve said, a calm counterpart to Tony’s still frazzled state. 

Tony could feel the panic attack creeping up. His skin felt too tight, like it’d been in the dryer for too long. His left arm tingled and his fingers were numb.

He may have been alright if he’d been alone. He may have been able to pick Peter up and dust him off without a problem if Barnes hadn’t walk over and said with a small smile, “You gotta learn how to dodge, kid.”

Tony lost it. 

“Shut the hell up.” He whirled around to snarl at Barnes. “You don’t get to talk to my kid. Not now. Not ever. Stay the hell away from him.” 

“Tony!” Peter and Steve both shouted out, ringing around the room in stereo. 

Tony ignored them both as he slung Peter’s arm around his shoulders and stood him up. Barnes stepped out of their way immediately. Steve looked like he was going to press the issue but stilled under Barnes' hand that squeezed his shoulder.

With no one stopping them, Tony lead Peter to the elevators. They opened up as soon as they got close enough and shut the second they stepped instead, taking them straight to the penthouse.

Thank you, FRIDAY. 

For once, Peter was stunned into silence, but the spell was broken as soon as Tony walked him into the living room. He bucked against Tony’s hold when he tried to sit him down on the couch. 

“Wait a second!” Peter exclaimed, stepping out of Tony’s reach. “What was that all about?”

“I’m thinking cheeseburgers and fries for dinner.” Tony said, instead of answering Peter’s very valid question. You know, like an adult. 

“Tony,” 

“How many burgers do you want?”

“Tony.”

“Maybe we can watch Back to the Future too. We haven’t seen that one in a while.”  
“Tony!”

Tony sighed and walked to kitchen. He needed a drink. “Leave it, Pete.” 

Peter didn’t. He followed, hot on Tony’s heels. “You totally freaked out back there. What’s going on?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Tony finished ordering an ungodly amount of food and opened the refrigerator to see what the beer situation was. He had severely cut back his alcohol consumption since Peter moved in, but he thought he deserved at least a beer tonight. 

“It’s not nothing.” Peter argued. “So, what, I’m banned from hanging out with Bucky now?”

“He hurt you!” Tony shouted, slamming the door shut and surprising them both. He hadn’t meant to shout and he flushed guiltily at Peter’s flinch. He took a purposefully steady breath and tried to get himself under control.

Tony glanced up, expecting Peter to still be angry, but instead, he just looked confused. He tilted his head and studied Tony. 

“It wasn’t his fault, Tony. It was an accident. You didn’t even freak this much that one-time Natasha accidentally dislocated my shoulder.” Peter paused. “Is it because it was Bucky? Is it because of what happened in Germany?”

Tony usually had a better poker face but now he was still too frazzled to stop the sharp intake of breath that answered Peter’s question for him.

“I thought everything was settled between you guys.” Peter said quietly, almost to himself, as if trying to figure the situation out in his head.

“Peter, enough.” Tony snapped, and the kid stopped talking. He scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to regain some composure. He felt raw, like an exposed nerve. He really didn’t want to hit meltdown mode in front of Peter. 

“Pete, please leave it alone.” Tony said softer, practically pleading. A look crossed Peter’s face, like he was still going to pick at the issue. Tony was not above bribing. 

“If you let me eat junk food and watch movies with you tonight then we’ll talk tomorrow, okay? I promise we’ll talk. Just not right now.” 

Peter looked unsure for moment, but then he nodded. Tony practically physically slumped in relief.

“Good,” Tony said then made an effort to shake the past few minutes off. He teasingly pushed Peter down the hall towards him room. “Now, go get a shower. You stink.” 

Peter started to gear up a protest to defend his body odor, before catching a whiff of it himself. “Ugh, yeah, I do kind of stink.” 

Tony forced out a laugh that sounded normal enough and wait until Peter was out of the room to have a panic attack. In the twenty minutes it took for Peter to shower and the food to arrive, Tony had expertly rode out the attack, wrap it up, and compartmentalize it. He stored it in the part of his bran where all his other traumas were put, each waiting for the day where Tony would address them. It definitely wasn’t happening tonight, though. 

Tonight, Tony was watching Peter shot gun three cheeseburgers and countless fries with a vigor of someone who hadn’t had a hot meal in months. Tonight, Tony was taking comfort in the solid weight of Peter sitting by his side, then eventually sliding down until he was laying in Tony’s lap. He was asleep before Marty even left 1988. Tonight, Tony anchored his hand on Peter’s chest and counted every breath that he took.

By the time the movie ended, Tony was exhausted. It was tempting to stay put on the couch, but he knew that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to move properly for a week. He nudged Peter until he slowly blinked awake.

“Come on, Pete.” Tony said gently. “Time to head for bed.”

“Huh?” Peter rubbed his eyes sleepily, like a little kid. He didn’t move though and even started to doze again until Tony guided him until he was sitting up. “Did I miss the movie?”

“Yup, sleepyhead. You did and it even ended differently this time. You missed it.”

“No, it didn’t” Peter said petulantly.

“How would you know?” Tony stood and held his hands out to Peter. “Come on, bedtime.” 

Peter took his hands and let himself be lifted up off the couch. Tony followed as he stumbled down the hall, but instead of turning right to his room, he kept padding on and went into Tony’s. He watched as Peter climbed into the bed and curled up under the covers. 

It had been awhile since he’d slept in Tony’s room. Pepper was gone on business to Chicago that week so it wasn’t an issue, just a surprise. Tony did feel guilty, though, that he freaked out bad enough that Peter felt the need to stick close. But Tony couldn’t bring himself to send him away. He felt better knowing that Peter would be on the other side of bed instead of down the hall. 

Besides, Peter was already back asleep and there’d be no moving him again. So Tony changed into an old tee shirt and sweatpants and settled in across from him. He fell asleep to the soft sound of Peter breathing.

***

_Tony was driving down a country road. He couldn’t remember where they were going or why, but Peter smiled at him happily from the passenger’s seat so that was all that mattered._

_Tony looked over at Peter chattering away about something that had happened at school. He looked back to the road just in time to see the tree but not in enough time to swerve. They hit it head on and Tony watched, helpless, as they were both thrown into the dashboard._

_Everything was silent for a long moment then sound erupted around them. The engine hissed and smoked. Fluid dripped from somewhere. Peter’s soft cries filled the space inside the car._

_Tony struggled to get himself free from his seat belt. “Pete, buddy, are you okay?”_

_Peter didn’t get a chance to answer before the passenger door was ripped off its hinges and thrown away like it was just a piece of scrap metal._

_The Winter Solider leaned into the car. His metal hand wrapped around Peter’s neck then squeezed._

_“T’ny.” Peter gasped._

_“No!” Tony screamed. He fought against the seat belt. It wouldn’t come loose. He reached over but was just out of reach. “No! Stop!”_

_The Winter Solider ignored him and tightened his grip. Peter fought, crawling at the metal hand but couldn’t get any purchase. His efforts grew weaker and weaker until he stopped altogether. The Solider finally released his grip. Peter’s head lolled against the head rest towards Tony; his lifeless eyes staring at him._

_“No, no, no, no.” The seat belt finally gave way and Tony fell out of the car, onto the ground. He heaved violently, emptying his stomach. He had barely finished before he was lifted by his collar and slammed into the car behind him. A metal hand clenched around his throat._

_The Winter Solider looked more like Barnes now, leering down at Tony, pinning him. He was in workout clothes. His long hair was pulled up on the top of his head. He looked exactly how he did sparring with Peter._

_“Bucky,” Tony managed to croak. “Stop.”_

_Barnes grinned. It was cold and sharp, with too much teeth._

_“Sorry, Tony.” He said and then snapped Tony’s neck._

Tony woke up with a start, jackknifing into a sitting position. He was too hot. He was cramped. He couldn’t breathe. He wrestled with the covers that were tangled around his legs. 

He was finally able to wrench the sheets away and free himself. He forced his head between his knees and focused on breathing. 

It was just a dream, Tony reminded himself. It was just a dream. He was okay. Peter was okay. 

_Peter_

With a sickening dread, Tony looked over and was faced with Peter’s wide eyes watching him. With a groan, Tony flopped back down against the pillows. He covered his face with one and wondered how long it’d take to smother himself. His embarrassment somehow eclipsing his leftover terror.

“Are you okay?” Peter’s timid voice asked. 

Tony risked a peek out from his feather shield to see that Peter looked wary, a bit anxious maybe, but overall not scarred for life. He threw an arm out and patted where it collided with Peter’s leg. “I’m alright, Pete. Just a bad dream.” 

Peter didn’t seem very convinced but nodded regardless. He cleared his throat. “Um, your phone’s been blowing up.” 

Tony cast his other arm out and felt around the bedside table until he found his phone. Peter was right. He had ten missed calls from Steve and another fifteen texts that ranged from apologetic, concern, and panic. It left Tony with the impression that Steve had already packed him and Barnes up and was just waiting for the eviction notice.

Tony sighed. He’d deal with that later. Unfortunately, he and a promise to keep and a kid that had a very good memory. 

He threw his pillow aside and waited until he knew he had Peter’s full attention. “Do you know how my parents died?”

Peter sat up straighter against the headboard. “It was a car accident, right?” 

“Eh,” Tony tilted his hand back and forth. “Yes and no.”

“It’s complicated?” Peter asked lightly with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.

“Would you expect any less?” Tony returned his smile. “Howard, my dad, was one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D. He also helped create the super soldier serum.”

“Like Cap?” 

Tony hummed. “Exactly. Needless to say, he had a lot of secrets and a lot of enemies that wanted them. He had recreated the serum and Hydra got wind of it. So, they sent their best to get it.” 

Tony paused, trying to figure out how to proceed without damaging Barnes’ reputation in Peter’s impressible mind. “What do you know about the Winter Soldier?”

Peter frowned. “Not much. I read some of the leaked files after S.H.I.E.L.D went down, but Ned was only able to decrypt a few. He was a hydra assassin, right? They brainwashed him and kept him in cryo between missions? Oh,” 

Peter stilled suddenly before Tony could answer. He could see Peter working it all out. “Oh no.” He looked at Tony sadly. He looked so young. “They sent Bucky to kill them?” 

Tony nodded, not trusting his voice at that moment. 

“So, yesterday at the gym, that’s why you, why you were,”

Tony grinned without any humor. “Freaking out? Yeah.”

Peter’s face fell. “Tony, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” 

“Don’t.” Tony quickly shook his head and waved away Peter’s words. He wanted to go ahead and put an end to whatever guilt trip that the kid was starting himself down. “It’s not your fault. It’s not Barnes’ either. This is something I gotta work out, kid. It’s something I’ve been working on for a couple of years now and it’s gotten better, trust me.” 

He ran a hand through his hair. “But seeing you laying there, hurt and him standing over you like that.” Tony couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through his body. “I just got spooked was all.” 

“Do you want me to stop hanging out with him?” Peter asked solemnly, and Tony knew that if he said yes, then Peter would never set his sights on Barnes ever again.

It was tempting to say yes. Very tempting. But Tony knew that it would lead to Barnes leaving and Steve following right on his heels. The world had already taken so much from Peter. Tony decided that he wouldn’t be responsible for sending away another person that Peter cared about.  
“  
Nah, its fine, Pete.” Tony told him, and Peter’s relieved smile told him that he’d made the right call. “Let’s just lay low for a little bit though, okay? Let your old man lick his wounds for a bit.” 

“Sure.” Peter said agreeably.

Tony smiled and ruffled his hair. “Come on, Underoos. Let’s get some breakfast.” 

Half way through burning their pancakes, Tony took pity on Steve and texted him back that everything was alright and that him and Barnes weren’t being evicted. 

_Are you sure?_ Came the instant reply

 _Yeah,_ Tony sent back. _Just give us some space for a couple weeks._

_Of course._

“What’s burning? Do I need to call the fire department?” An insolent teenage voice called out down the hallway.

“Hardee har har. I’d like see you do any better.” 

Tony took advantage of the couple of inches of height he had on Peter, as the kid came into the kitchen and made a grab for the plate. He laughed as Peter hopped around, trying to get the pancakes that were now just out of his reach; until, that is, he stuck to the wall then ended up accidentally sending the whole batch crashing to the floor. 

Oh well, they were burnt anyways. 

***

Other then the occasional brush by in the hallways, they were successfully able to avoid Barnes and Rogers for two weeks. Tony could have easily gone two more weeks. Peter had started pouting after a week. They probably would have been able to manage one more week if a giant lizard didn’t burst out of the sewer on their way to dinner.

"What in the fresh hell is that?" Tony swerved the car up into the curb, just narrowly missing the thing’s ankles. Beside him, Peter gave a very weary kind of sigh that Tony knew didn’t bode well for anyone. He started putting on his Spider-Man suit.

"This isn't one of yours, is it?" Tony asked. He was certain that he hadn't heard of an eight foot lizard man being added to Spider-Man's quickly growing enemy list. 

"Yeah." Peter said, tugging the mask on. "I thought I took care of him though down in the sewers." 

Tony wished he could say that that sentence surprised him more. 

“I’m sorry, the what now?” He questioned because he definitely knew Peter had never told him about any sewer field trips.

“The sewers.” The whites of the suit’s eyes narrowed at him and Tony regretted designing it with the ability to emote and thus now mock him. "I told you about this guy, Tony."

"Uh no, no you did not. Trust me, I would remember any conversations about mutated lizards." 

Peter doubled down. "Yes I did. Dr. Curtis Connors, remember? From that college biology class I’ve been taking? He got mixed up with some shady Oscorp stuff-" he waved a hand around in the air, "yada yada yada, now he turns into a giant lizard sometimes." 

Tony blinked. Then he blinked again. “You just yada yada'd over the most important parts! Are you punking me right now, kid?" 

"Tony," Peter huffed, half way out of the car already. "punking isn't even a thing anymore and I already told you about all of this. Now can I please go fight my giant lizard professor?" 

“Fine, go.” Tony relented, shaking his head. "What even is your life, kid?" 

"A mess, that's what it is." Peter muttered, climbing out of the car and Tony felt mildly offended, considering that he was a pretty major part of Peter’s life, but didn’t have a chance to defend his honor before Peter stuck his head back in." And you admitted that we talked about this! Ha!" 

"No, I did not!" Tony shouted in vain even as Peter had already swung away. Tony sighed and got out of the car too, activating his own suit and briefly feeling like the world’s worst father. Surely no one else’s kids got into these kind of situations.

"I'll let you take the lead on this one, Pete. Since he's your big bad and all." He said through the comms. "I'll start getting civilians out of the way. Shout if you need me and don’t hesitate to shout, capisce?" 

"Capisce." 

Apparently, any authority Iron Man had over civilians was undercut by the spectacle of Spider-Man battling it out with an over grown gecko. It had also been a long since he'd been on civilian duty and he may have lost his touch a bit. 

No one wanted to listen until a metal armed, man bun sporting, hipster came over and started shouting out orders. Oh, then they couldn't move fast enough. 

"Thanks." Tony said reluctantly, put out more by the fact no one wanted to listen to Iron Man anymore.

"I'm not following you guys, I swear.” Barnes was quick to say. “I was in the area and it looked like you could use the help. If you want me to leave, I can."

Tony considered doing just that but thought better of it. But they’d kept up their end of the deal and Tony knew that they couldn’t keep avoiding each other forever. 

“You can be on crowd duty. They actually listen to you for some reason.” Tony said, then fired up his thrusters and headed Peter’s way

The kid held his own pretty well. His training sessions were paying off and it showed. Tony hovered from a distance and watched as Peter did what he did best: flip and quip. 

But as it did so often with Peter here lately, it came down to bad timing. 

Tony watched as Peter dodged the car that Connors slung at him at the same time that its massive tail swung up behind him. Tony didn’t even get a chance to yell for him to watch out before Peter was smacked and went sailing for a solid block before crashing into a building. He hit the ground and didn’t get up.

“Barnes,” Tony shouted below, gritting his teeth. “get Spider-Man.” 

Barnes gave a curt nod and ran off. Tony then his full attention to the lizard. Unfortunately for him. 

“Alright, that’s enough.” Tony hit him with a blast so hard that it turned him back human. Tony waited just long enough the police to show up before racing over to Peter. 

By the time Tony got there, Peter was awake and sitting up. He swayed dangerously on the sidewalk but was held in place by Barnes’ steady, hovering hands. They both looked up as Tony hit the pavement, stepping out of the suit and crouching by Peter. 

Barnes had lifted Peter’s mask above his eyes, exposing his mix matched dilated pupils. Concussion then. 

The whole block was cleared so Tony gently tugged the rest of the mask off. Peter blinked at him then gave him a lopsided smile.

“Oh, hey Tony.” 

Tony smiled back, relieved that Peter didn’t seem to have any other injuries. “Hey, kid. How you feeling?”

“I feel great.” Peter slurred, then threw himself out of Barnes’ hands and into Tony’s chest. Tony scrambled to grab hold of him before he hit the pavement again and held him against his shoulder. 

“You’re concussed.” Barnes said, sounding like that wasn’t the first time he had told Peter that. 

“I’m not concussed.” Peter argued, his words muffled into Tony’s shoulder. 

“Oh yeah?” Barnes challenged. He turned and pointed to a giant clock that was nestled inside one of the nearby buildings. “Tell the time.” 

Peter lifted his head. He shot Barnes a defiant glare then narrowed his eyes at the clock. He pointed at it and slurred, “I’m not concussed.”

Tony didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry so he stuck with his old standby: sighing. Barnes elected to laugh. Tony sat Peter on the sidewalk and suited back up. He sighed again for good measure then lifted Peter into his arms. 

He’d get Happy to get the car they’d abandoned.

“Alight kid,” He told Peter who was currently trying to cuddle against the cold metal suit. “we’re going to go home and get some food in you, then its bed time.” 

“Wait!” Peter suddenly pushed hard against his chest. “What about Bucky?”

Tony lifted an eyebrow. “What about him?” 

“He’s hungry!” Peter honest to god whined. “He should come over. He’s been grounded for forever, Tony.”

“He wasn’t grounded.” Tony muttered.

His instinct was to say no, to keep them at arm’s length for a bit longer. But then he thought Steve’s stupid excited face when he saw Peter as they passed him in the hall the other day and how just now, Tony didn’t melt down at the sight of Barnes’ touching Peter. Then there was Peter’s huge puppy eyes looking up at him and he couldn’t say no.

He sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that hour. “Come up the penthouse for some pizza, Barnes. Bring Rogers with you.” 

Barnes nodded once, his expression unreadable, and Tony started towards the tower, ignoring Peter’s tiny “yay”.

***

The anxiety that had hidden itself away during the lizard incident, decided to come out in full force when Steve and Barnes walked into the penthouse. Although it did ease a little as Steve greeted him with a grateful smile and a “Hey, Tony”, and then made a beeline to where Peter dozed on the couch. The kid stirred awake at Steve’s arrival then perked up when Steve revealed the Lego set that he’d had hidden behind his back, like a bad magic trick.

“Don’t get him thinking too hard, Rogers.” Tony called out as he headed to the kitchen. “Don’t want to melt that big brain of his.” 

Needing something to do with his hands, Tony preoccupied himself with dinner. He laid the pizzas out in alphabetically order, according to toppings. He put out all of the plates and cups then filled all the cups with ice. He just barely stopped himself from folding the napkins into swans. He took his time fixing his and Peter’s plates, making sure to nab the biggest, cheesiest pieces for Peter.

Only when he really and truly ran out of things to do, did he make to go the living room, only to find himself face to face with Barnes. He cursed in surprise, and was very proud of himself for not dropping the plates that were in his hand. 

“I’m going to get you a bell.” 

Barnes ignored the quip and refused to move when Tony tried to shoulder past him. Tony tried again but was stopped again by Barnes’ quiet but determined words, spoken quickly as if he was afraid that Tony would interrupt him before he got them all out.

“I’d never purposely hurt Peter. I need you to understand that. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I’d never do anything to purposely hurt the kid. Or you. Or anyone on our team. ” 

Tony thought that he knew all that all along. He wouldn’t have let Barnes set foot in the tower if there wasn’t some part of him that believed that. But that didn’t make it any easier to look at Barnes sometimes without remembering Siberia or his mom’s dying face. 

But then Tony thought of Peter and how close he’d gotten to Steve and Barnes. How Steve doted on Peter like he was his little brother. How gentle Barnes’ hands were when he supported Peter on the sidewalk.

Tony sighed. He needed to join in on Peter’s therapy sessions.

“I know.” Tony said quietly, achingly aware of the kid with super hearing and a tendency to eavesdrop, that sat in the next room. “I just needed some time with the kid.”  
Visible relief crossed Barnes’ face and his shoulders dropped a bit. “If it’s worth anything,” He said, just as quietly as Tony. “I’m sorry, for everything.” 

Tony knew an apology wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t bring his mom back. It wouldn’t give him a chance to say goodbye or tell her how much he loved her one more time. It wouldn’t erase all those years that Tony drowned himself in alcohol and women to ease the impossibly heavy grief that weighed on him for so long.

But, to Tony’s surprise, it did soothe him some. 

Barnes’ apology wouldn’t fix the past and its hurts, but it could help the future. That was all that could be done for now and it would have to be enough.

“We’re cool, Robocop.” Tony assured with a pat to Barnes’s shoulder and moved past him to get to the living room. 

Thanks to Peter’s lingering concussion, there hadn’t been too much progress made on the Lego Stark tower but the pair seemed proud regardless. Peter tilted his head back on the couch and gave Tony a dopey grin. He held up a tiny, custom made Spider-Man figure. 

“Tony, look what Steve got me.” He said, proudly. “It me.” 

“I see it.” Tony said, smiling down at him. He plucked the figure from his fingers and replaced with a plate of food. “That’s pretty cool, Petey. You’ve hit the big leagues now.”

Peter smiled blindingly, then shoved a whole slice of pizza in his mouth with so much force that all three adults cried out in alarm at the same time.

“Peter!”

“Slow down!” 

“Eat, not inhale!” 

When it looked like Peter wasn’t in danger of choking to death, Tony sat back and watched the scene that was in front of him.

Steve and Barnes took turns asking Peter about school and everything that they’d missed and Peter threw hands around, animatedly filling them. Tony inched closer to Peter and couldn’t help but grin even when he was rewarded with a rouge elbow to his ribs. Barnes laughed at something Peter said and ruffled his hair.

It was sweet. It was nice. Tony didn’t break out in hives. It was fine. He could keep moving forward, Tony decided. He could do this new normal. 

For Peter, he could do anything.

**Author's Note:**

> Now, I know what you're thinking, "Hey, don't you have a WIP that needs working on??"
> 
> You're right, I do! I'm trying something new with the chapter I'm working on and I've been dragging my feet a bit on working on it. I'll finish it though, I promise. 
> 
> This idea has been in my head for a while and my plan was to work on it after I finished with Four Trimesters, but here we are! Oh well. I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with it either but it is what it is.
> 
> As always, any kudos and comments are much appreciated. <3


End file.
